Production from the Kinnoull field in the North Sea has started, operator BP said this morning.

The Kinnoull field, BP's seventh and final major project in 2014, has been developed as part of the Andrew field area rejuvenation, extending production there by a decade.

The field, containing about 45 MMboe, is tied back via a 28km (17mi.) subsea pipeline bundle - the longest of its type - to the Andrew platform (pictured, courtesey BP), 230km east of Aberdeen in the central North Sea. Production is then exported via the Forties pipeline system (oil) and the CATS pipeline system (gas).

The Andrew area investment included extensive refurbishment of the Andrew platform to improve its integrity and operational efficiency. Modifications and refurbishment work required an 18-month outage on the platform, more than one million hours of offshore construction work and a floatel on location for 20 months.

Andrew was discovered in 1974, and came onstream in 1996, producing more than 200 MMbo and 40 MMboe associated gas since. At peak production, the platform, sitting in 100-120m water depth, produced 80,000 boe/d. Kinnoull was discovered in 2008 and the £700 million investment decision to develop it was taken in 2011.

Trevor Garlick, Regional President for BP’s North Sea business said: “50 years after BP was awarded its first licences in the North Sea, the successful start-up of Kinnoull demonstrates our continued commitment to maximising recovery from the basin.

“The combination of brownfield and greenfield development work – carrying out material upgrades, improving the reliability of existing facilities and retrofitting new facilities onto an existing platform – added significantly to the complexity of this project. In successfully delivering it, we have completed one of the most challenging offshore projects BP has undertaken in the North Sea.”

“As we now look to continue our investments and meet the challenges of a toughening market environment, we also need to continue to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of our North Sea business.”

Production from Andrew and Kinnoull is forecast to peak at over 50,000 boe/d and is expected to make a significant contribution to BP’s commitment to grow its operating cash flow.

Wood Group PSN provided topsides design, engineering and construction services on the Andrew platform. Subsea 7 had the engineering, procurement, fabrication, installation and commissioning contract for the bundle system, comprising four, 7km subsea bundles joined together. Dolphin Drilling provided the floatel. Heerema Fabrication Group fabricated a 750-tonne process module for Andrew. Duco provided engineering, project management and fabrication for subsea umbilicals, thermoplastic hoses and electric cables. Wood Group Kenny provided subsea engineering services. VetcoGray (GE Oil & Gas) manufactured and tested the subsea control system. Bel Valves supplied subsea valves.

BP operates and has a 77.06% interest in Kinnoull, alongside co-venturer JX Nippon Exploration and Production (U.K.) Limited (22.94%). Andrew is operated by BP, with a 62.75% interest, with co-venturers JX Nippon (27.39%) and Talisman-Sinopec (9.86%)

Source : www.oedigital.com

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